Suzuki Flute Style Lessons | Melbourne Flute Masters

Philosophy

How I Teach

I teach in the Suzuki Style. I use the essence of Suzuki philosophy and apply it to the individual student. Some Suzuki teachers may just follow the Suzuki repertoire teaching the nine books consecutively, with little deviation from the repertoire. However, in my 20 years, I have found that following the nine books exactly is not for all children and here’s why.

All children are different.

Advanced students meeting Toshio Takahashi and Rebecca Paluzzi at Suzuki National Conference, Melbourne 2018

No two children are alike and while Dr Suzuki’s philosophy is at the heart of how I teach I am also influenced by;

My students, and what they are naturally drawn to and how they connect with their world.
Years of learning with incredible teachers of not only flute but other instruments and other art forms like dance and drama.
Playing with other wonderful musicians of all styles.
All kinds of art forms! Dance, art, films, they contribute to our life experience in such an individual way.

There are so many opportunities out there to appeal to all kinds of students. The wider musical community supports all styles. So even though I may be involved in the classical music community, I understand that there is jazz, folk, contemporary and far more out there that may appeal to my students.

I want to be open to these approaches to help my students find what sparks their curiosity and really inspires them to play.

My purpose is to:

Give a solid understanding about the process of mastery.
Give my students a long and happy musical journey.
Broaden their life experience.
Help them find their passion.
Guide students to build their skills for them to achieve their goals.

For me to achieve this, I make sure that students know they are able to participate in events such as:

AMEB exams
Music camps, festivals and workshops
Auditions
Orchestral and band experience
Competitions
Concerts to see and hear amazing music
Concerts to perform amazing music
Suzuki Graduations

What is Suzuki Method?

The Suzuki method is an internationally known music curriculum and teaching philosophy dating from the mid-20th century, created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Dr. Shinichi Suzuki.

He observed that all children were able to learn their mother tongue / native language effortlessly through

Listening
Repetition
Parental involvement
Every child can learn

He concluded that children could also learn music this way if taught with love and dedication.

His goal was to embrace the whole child, nurturing a love of music and the development of a fine character rather than just the mastering of a musical instrument.

“The potential of every child is unlimited” Dr. Suzuki.

Read more about how Suzuki philosophy is applied at MFM in the table below.

The Suzuki Flute Repertoire

The Suzuki flute repertoire is carefully chosen to guide the flute student through the French Flute School style of playing, which Toshio Takahashi had studied with Marcel Moyse, who is considered one of the great flautists and teachers of the 20th Century. His influence is evident in most of the world’s best flute players even today.

Moyse always strove to teach his students “not how to play the flute, but how to make music”.

So, how does Dr. Suzuki fit into this?

Dr. Suzuki approached Toshio Takahashi to expand Suzuki Method to include the flute. As a result, Takahashi is one of the founding members of Suzuki Method International. The French Flute School influence, from his time with Moyse, is evident throughout the books, which includes many milestone pieces in the wider flute repertoire.

Dr. Suzuki’s Philosophy	How Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy is expressed at Melbourne Flute Masters
Every Child Can With the belief that talent is not inborn, every child can learn to play a musical instrument, given the right environment.	“Any child can be developed, it depends on how you do it” Dr. Suzuki With support and encouragement, all children can learn to play the flute. It’s not a talent or a ‘calling’ for many, it’s an enjoyable skill that can be learnt.
Start early Children as young as 4 years old can start Suzuki Flute.	The youngest student we have had is 4. Ears first eyes second. Aural skills (listening) are best developed when children are young. They need to hear rhythm and pitch in early childhood to wire their brain circuits, so the earlier they can start, more developed their auditory cortex will be. Your aural skills are less likely to be as well developed when older, so younger is definitely better to start a musical instrument!
Listening Inspired by the way children learn to speak their mother tongue effortlessly, Suzuki students listen to professional recordings of the pieces they play. This develops their ear and a fine musical tone.	More listening = more progress. Listening to recordings of the pieces that will be learnt is a key component of Suzuki Method. Finding regular and optimal times every day to listen to their music is paramount for the success of this approach. This also develops highly attuned aural skills. Just like most of us can listen to songs on the radio, or our favourite albums, we know all the words and how the song goes. This is all done by listening, and a lot of it! It then becomes EASY to sing those songs. 99.9% of people would not be reading the music to learn these songs, they would be LISTENING to them.
One step at a time Each skill is broken down into the smallest parts so that even small children are able to learn. We master each step in order to progress. The flute repertoire is progressive, allowing each step to be mastered before a new one is introduced.	Mastery is the key to progressing. The smallest steps are taught, developed and rewarded. Just like children speak only sounds at the beginning, then only words, and then full sentences, we approach music in the same way. One step at a time, step by step.
Repetition When a baby learns a new word, they must repeat it many times before it is learned – this is the same for developing new skills on the flute, Suzuki said “Ability is knowledge plus 10,000 times”.	Practise makes perfect We learn by repeating a task many, many times. We have lots of games to make this a fun way of working. “Only practice on the days that you eat” Dr. Suzuki
Memory The student learns to learn their pieces “off-by-heart” or from memory. This is almost effortless, when they have been listening regularly and have learnt by ear. It is an incredible skill to foster, as it is a transferable skill into other parts of the student’s life.	When learning by ear, the children tend to “internalise” the music more. They hear it so much, that they can use their memory to find the music. When you team that with repetition, you get a combination of muscle memory and knowing the music, down to your bones! That then allows the player to “feel” the music more, and take it off the page and make it their own.
Review We regularly build new skills on previously learnt skills, just as we don’t discard new words after we have learnt them. So when a student learns a new piece, we frequently go back over older pieces to explore them in different ways.	“Ability breeds ability” Dr. Suzuki. Review serves a few purposes: It aids in “10,000 times” required to build skill Children naturally go back to what they are familiar with which helps to build neural pathways in their brain When we want to learn a new skill, we go back over earlier pieces to add the new skill to an already mastered skill. For example, we don’t throw away old words once we learn new ones. They just get added into our vocabulary. When we learn a new word, we find OLD words that are similar for us to gain meaning from them Musicians never stop learning! On top of learning new music, we are always revisiting previously learnt music as we grow and develop. We find deeper meaning during each new play.
Shared Experience Group classes are an integral part of the Suzuki Approach. These are fun and supportive classes allowing students to interact with their peers in a fun environment, gaining trust and confidence in ensemble playing and performing.	Music is not a solitary pursuit at all! Practising your instrument can be a wonderful time to be by yourself and discovering a new world, just like reading a novel, but coming together with others and making music with others is so much fun! Not only that, it aids in motivating us to play more, work as a team, listening to one another to build ensemble skills, and to show we are part of something bigger than ourselves.
Music Reading A child does not learn to read at the same time they learn to speak. Students learn to play the flute by ear before they start to read music. Memory playing also continues after reading begins, and reading music is taught when the teacher believes the student is ready	At MFM, we do not teach a child to read music immediately. It’s complicated enough to play the instrument and think about what our hands and feet are doing, let alone decipher what’s on the page. We introduce note recognition in various stages of development and relate them back to how they sound, until a time all the elements can be combined with learning to read music. This is done when the student is ready.
Positive Environment “where love is deep, much can be accomplished” The Suzuki approach is nurturing beyond music. It builds self-esteem by learning in an encouraging environment, which fosters the student’s character and ability.	It is our goal at MFM for students to feel a sense of joy when coming to the flute studio. A place they can feel supported listened to and challenged. The flute studio is a safe space for students to experiment with making mistakes and discoveries, and being brave and creative.
The Suzuki Triangle – The triangle is formed by equal co-operation between the student, teacher and parent (practice partner/home teacher).	Go team FLUTE! Just like it takes a village to raise a child, it really is a team effort to get a person to go from no knowledge to being skilled at playing the flute. The Parent-Child-Teacher team works best when all work together to help the student/child progress. 1. The teacher helps support the parent in encouraging positive and effective practice at home. 2. The parent is involved in the lesson and at home 3. The student practices better, the student progresses, the student plays better.

Dr. Suzuki’s Philosophy
Every Child Can With the belief that talent is not inborn, every child can learn to play a musical instrument, given the right environment.
Start early Children as young as 4 years old can start Suzuki Flute.
Listening Inspired by the way children learn to speak their mother tongue effortlessly, Suzuki students listen to professional recordings of the pieces they play. This develops their ear and a fine musical tone.
One step at a time Each skill is broken down into the smallest parts so that even small children are able to learn. We master each step in order to progress. The flute repertoire is progressive, allowing each step to be mastered before a new one is introduced.
Repetition When a baby learns a new word, they must repeat it many times before it is learned – this is the same for developing new skills on the flute, Suzuki said “Ability is knowledge plus 10,000 times”.
Memory The student learns to learn their pieces “off-by-heart” or from memory. This is almost effortless, when they have been listening regularly and have learnt by ear. It is an incredible skill to foster, as it is a transferable skill into other parts of the student’s life.
Review We regularly build new skills on previously learnt skills, just as we don’t discard new words after we have learnt them. So when a student learns a new piece, we frequently go back over older pieces to explore them in different ways.
Shared Experience Group classes are an integral part of the Suzuki Approach. These are fun and supportive classes allowing students to interact with their peers in a fun environment, gaining trust and confidence in ensemble playing and performing.
Music Reading A child does not learn to read at the same time they learn to speak. Students learn to play the flute by ear before they start to read music. Memory playing also continues after reading begins, and reading music is taught when the teacher believes the student is ready
Positive Environment “where love is deep, much can be accomplished” The Suzuki approach is nurturing beyond music. It builds self-esteem by learning in an encouraging environment, which fosters the student’s character and ability.
The Suzuki Triangle – The triangle is formed by equal co-operation between the student, teacher and parent (practice partner/home teacher).

How Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy is expressed at Melbourne Flute Masters
“Any child can be developed, it depends on how you do it” Dr. Suzuki With support and encouragement, all children can learn to play the flute. It’s not a talent or a ‘calling’ for many, it’s an enjoyable skill that can be learnt.
The youngest student we have had is 4. Ears first eyes second. Aural skills (listening) are best developed when children are young. They need to hear rhythm and pitch in early childhood to wire their brain circuits, so the earlier they can start, more developed their auditory cortex will be. Your aural skills are less likely to be as well developed when older, so younger is definitely better to start a musical instrument!
More listening = more progress. Listening to recordings of the pieces that will be learnt is a key component of Suzuki Method. Finding regular and optimal times every day to listen to their music is paramount for the success of this approach. This also develops highly attuned aural skills. Just like most of us can listen to songs on the radio, or our favourite albums, we know all the words and how the song goes. This is all done by listening, and a lot of it! It then becomes EASY to sing those songs. 99.9% of people would not be reading the music to learn these songs, they would be LISTENING to them.
Mastery is the key to progressing. The smallest steps are taught, developed and rewarded. Just like children speak only sounds at the beginning, then only words, and then full sentences, we approach music in the same way. One step at a time, step by step.
“Only practice on the days that you eat” Dr. Suzuki We learn by repeating a task many, many times. We have lots of games to make this a fun way of working. “Only practice on the days that you eat” Dr. Suzuki
When learning by ear, the children tend to “internalise” the music more. They hear it so much, that they can use their memory to find the music. When you team that with repetition, you get a combination of muscle memory and knowing the music, down to your bones! That then allows the player to “feel” the music more, and take it off the page and make it their own.
“Ability breeds ability” Dr. Suzuki. Review serves a few purposes: It aids in “10,000 times” required to build skill Children naturally go back to what they are familiar with which helps to build neural pathways in their brain When we want to learn a new skill, we go back over earlier pieces to add the new skill to an already mastered skill. For example, we don’t throw away old words once we learn new ones. They just get added into our vocabulary. When we learn a new word, we find OLD words that are similar for us to gain meaning from them Musicians never stop learning! On top of learning new music, we are always revisiting previously learnt music as we grow and develop. We find deeper meaning during each new play.
Music is not a solitary pursuit at all! Practising your instrument can be a wonderful time to be by yourself and discovering a new world, just like reading a novel, but coming together with others and making music with others is so much fun! Not only that, it aids in motivating us to play more, work as a team, listening to one another to build ensemble skills, and to show we are part of something bigger than ourselves.
At MFM, we do not teach a child to read music immediately. It’s complicated enough to play the instrument and think about what our hands and feet are doing, let alone decipher what’s on the page. We introduce note recognition in various stages of development and relate them back to how they sound, until a time all the elements can be combined with learning to read music. This is done when the student is ready.
It is our goal at MFM for students to feel a sense of joy when coming to the flute studio. A place they can feel supported listened to and challenged. The flute studio is a safe space for students to experiment with making mistakes and discoveries, and being brave and creative.
Go team FLUTE! Just like it takes a village to raise a child, it really is a team effort to get a person to go from no knowledge to being skilled at playing the flute. The Parent-Child-Teacher team works best when all work together to help the student/child progress. 1. The teacher helps support the parent in encouraging positive and effective practice at home. 2. The parent is involved in the lesson and at home 3. The student practices better, the student progresses, the student plays better.